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Wednesday, 22 January 2020

Meghan's Visit To See Mayhew's "Incredible Progress"

During Meghan's return to the UK earlier this month, we know she and Harry spent time at the Hubb Community Kitchen before travelling to Canada House. The Duchess also paid a visit to her patronage the National Theatre and this morning via Sussex Royal, two photos were shared of a visit to Mayhew, another of her patronages.

Sussex Royal shared: "Earlier this month, The Duchess of Sussex popped in to see the amazing people at Mayhew to hear about the incredible progress made throughout the festive period. The Duchess of Sussex, having been proud patron of Mayhew since January 2019 and long understanding the connection between animal and community welfare, applauds the people at Mayhew for the vital work that they do every day."

Mayhew is a grassroots charity working tirelessly to improve the lives of animals both in London and internationally. Mayhew looks for innovative ways to reduce the number of animals in need through pro-active community and educational initiatives and preventative veterinary care. This includes working with homeless charities across London to ensure people and their dogs can be kept together; running a pet refuge programme to provide shelter and care for the pets of people in crisis for short periods of time; and educating young people about animal welfare and the importance of responsible pet ownership. Internationally, Mayhew works with governments, local communities and charitable groups in Afghanistan, Georgia, Russia and India to help improve animal welfare.

Sadly, we all know the festive period can be a particularly difficult one for charities like Mayhew. They are dedicated to finding the best home for each animal in their care such as Shadow, an energetic and intelligent five-month-old boy.

I've been thinking for some time we could see the Duchess pen a children's book about adopting a pet with proceeds going to the Mayhew. I also wouldn't be surprised to see a visit to their Afghanistan arm at some point this year. Although she's now working in a different capacity, she remains patron and will continue to support them through visits and larger projects.

You can support Mayhew's amazing work by donating or purchasing items from their online shop. Their 2020 calendars are just £3 at the moment.

Meghan wore a navy wool coat by Massimo Dutti for the visit (with many thanks to Meghan's Fashion). The A-line piece features a lapel collar and two side pockets. It retails for $399.

Meghan blue stripe shirt is the very famous Misha Nonoo Husband Shirt (another stellar ID by Meghan's Fashion). The $185 piece is described as: "The Husband Shirt is an oversized blue and white striped cotton button-up shirt with silver tuxedo-style studs. It features elongated cuffs, a classic stitched tuxedo pleat, and the signature MN logo embroidered on the back of the neck." It's available in an array of colours on Misha Nonoo's website.

111 comments:

I'm sure Shadow has found a forever home...what an adorable pup! If I lived in the UK I'd adopt him in a flash. So glad to see Meghan chose to visit Mayhew on her last visit to the area in a while. Her work is certainly not ending.

I love her, and the causes she throws herself into with the power of her celebrity to make a difference in this world. She has a voice and I'm hoping she will use it to improve the lives of others around the world. Canada is blessed to have her as a permanent resident of the country. I just hope the press proves to less intrusive now that she's merely a celebrity and no longer a member of the BRF. God bless Harry and Meghan.

I think Meghan was checking in on all her patronages and causes of interest before she departed for North America. Perhaps her way of saying although not present I'm still available, I haven't left you.

USA Granny, I think she was indeed reassuring her patronages. I am waiting for her to do a "pet" project that will result in something I can purchase; as Charlotte mentioned, a book would be perfect!

I really hate the word "celebrity," although it just means "famous person"---she is still as much a member of the BRF as she ever was and as much as the York sisters are; just "nonworking," although she will never not work hard!

And I hate that tiara watchers will miss out on a second tiara sighting for her, although there may be some spectacular event in which all members of the RF wear a tiara. I am waiting for Meghan to wear those spectacular diamond bracelet/earrings from her wedding (earrings worn at the reception).

Agree. There will be the coronation as a tiara event in the hopefully distant future though, and the Duke of Sussex might buy her one – you can get them at auction if you have the patience to wait for a good offer. Something like the Danish Floral Aigrette would be perfect for her, it is flexible and can be adapted to more mundane occasions, but such pieces do not come up for sale very often.

On a less shallow note, recue animals are the best. So grateful, and even cheerful, after all that has happened in their life.

Interesting read. But I think the article missed the main point. Andrew has no intentions of earning money. Andrew didn’t step back from his royal work - he was forced to lay low for the “foreseeable future”. H&M wishes have real legal effects to how royalty works in the political landscape of the UK. Andrew might not be wrong by law (jury is still out on this) but definitely morally. His actions and reactions are but don’t rattle at the doors of the role, privileges and duties of the monarchy. While I agree that it seems unfair on first look the two cases are completely different. The real problem is not that H&M lost privileges. I think their deal is still good. But the Causa Andrew should have been handled much better aka stripping him of everything. The media headlines though are stupid. They shouldn’t use Andrew of all people to make any critical headlines about the Sussexes. That’s ridiculous and unworthy.C.

Andrew has been plagued by questionable dealings for a very long time. It got so bad that even the tabloids couldn’t avoid reporting on them over the years. He’s under review by parliament watchdog finance committee. But he continual shenanigans are tolerated because he is the favored son.

Quite apart from the obvious racism, the tabloids prefer to get their teeth into someone young and good-looking as it makes for better sales. As a young man, the Duke of York dated a model/actress who had once appeared topless in a film or something, all quite harmless. That filled the papers for weeks on end, whereas until very recently, the press did not seem to be interested in him being friends with a child abuser who made no attempt to disguise his lifestyle. There are many reasons for that, but one of them would be that he is no longer the dashing second-in-line and, therefore, not interesting enough to be tabloid fodder.

Sorry to go off H& M as a topic , Charlotte . Harry & Meghan are a convenient way to deflect from Andrew. Going to church with his Mum isn’t convincing anyone that he is sorry for his actions. Andrew could start by giving his money to charities in Palm Beach County , Florida that support children who suffer from trafficking and sexual abuse. The girls in this scandal were recruited from high schools here. ( For UK : KS4 & 5 ages 14-18)

If he were anybody's son on this blog, what would you do? Absent a trial to prove he is guilty, what would you have the Queen do, lock him in the Tower and 'off with his head'??? As a mother, she should stand by her son, as a monarch, she should take away his titles and remove him from public service permanently, and that may very well happen.

I love animal charities and am glad Meghan got in a visit. I’m really curious to see how she and Harry keep up with their patronages now that they’re no longer working royals. Which makes me think...Charlotte, since they aren’t, there probably won’t be any calendar updates for them, will there? I’m guessing we’ll only hear about engagements as they happen and not before?

That's a very interesting question Becca. There's so much up in the air and unknown at this point. It's going to be some months until we have a proper sense of how it's all going to work. I wouldn't imagine there'll be announcements ahead of charity visits, not unless they are attending functions where the media will be present.

I was saying to friends the other day, I do hope they find a way of sharing more about their charity work and visits. Often times, a quote from someone they met or a photograph capturing a moment really makes it memorable. I know they spoke about working with younger journalists and inviting specialist media to cover their work.

LaviniaThanks for the guardian link. Article is sad but true.Charlotte- Love the idea that Meghan can write a children’s book about animals with proceeds for Mayhew. It is quite clever that M & H are controlling release of these pix on their own platform. This is totally in keeping with their stated desires.

I'm wondering why H&M are suddenly not worthy if they are not "working" royals. The York sisters cannot possibly pay for their lifestyle with their jobs; we all know that Andrew subsidizes their clothes, rent, vacations. Andrew takes money to buy his ski abode, etc. Zara represents companies, as does, obviously, Peter. And it's not like H&M can find some little apartment somewhere. The security issue is a real concern; in addition to intrusion, there is kidnapping and other threats to worry about. Harry has been trying to be just a regular guy for some time. William seemed happy that way, too, but has apparently realized that he can make the world better as the heir. If he abdicated, then Harry would, and it would leave Andrew! Which would probably cause an end to the monarchy. Yes, Charles will help them with $1 million but they would have cost more if they were "working." I also would be uninterested if they just made commercials and joined the speakers' circuit but I know that's not their future.

Anon@6:10 - there's the line of succession. If William abdicated, the Crown would go to George, Charlotte, Louis before reaching Harry. I don't know that the English law would allow for someone like William to abdicate and then his heirs would be cut off as well. But hypothetically, if William abdicated, and William's offspring were minors, a Regent would be appointed. You'd have to get past all that before reaching Harry. Then Archie...before you ever arrived at Andrew.

LauraT, you're so right -- forgot about the children! I know it hasn't/won't happen, but wonder if a parent could force a child to abdicate or if the regent would take control until the child was of age to determine. But I don't think william would do that to his children.

I was just musing about the monarchy -- it's not like the king/queen has been someone new every 10 or 15 years. QE has been ruling my entire life and then some extra. In addition to the period in time, I think her connection with WWII is what gives her such a strong connection to the UK. And of course people have been used to Charles for more than 70 years, through all his "trials." I wonder if people will care as much about having a "ruler" vs having all the history when William's turn comes. Will his job be as necessary? Possibly having someone who is bipartisan would be very welcome, though!

I’ve seen a trend recently, especially among H&M followers, to comment that there will not be monarchy when William’s turn arrives. There are many other RFs in Europe that do not have a figure as remarkable in terms of history and longevity as TQ and still work fine. People will keep the monarchy if they seem useful to them as a distraction, a neutral figure to which everybody can relate and as long as they don’t seem to spend the taxpayers money exaggeratedly.

Anonymous, European monarchies try very hard to be relatable and please their people, mainly by much lower budgets, and they have it easier in having only one people to please instead of an entire Commonwealth. If they have been in a similar situation, I think they would have bent over backwards to keep their most popular younger member.

Prince Charles flies private jet to event to talk about global warming. Not a word of criticism. He meets Greta. Not deemed political. He doesn't shake hands with a US politician he doesn't like. That's ok.The Sussexes are criticised for putting an Instagram picture up of charity work because it is on the same day Kate releases a survey. Not to mention, Kate herself did this on the day PC was in Davos.

Well if you had checked Twitter yesterday you would have read a lot of criticism about Charles being too political again. Check DW’s article and cover today. His plans to fly by private jet were revealed and discussed everywhere at least a couple of months ago.

Anon, I know -- Meghan once again "tried to sabotage both Kate and Charles," who were not trying to do it to each other, of course. Even some people on this site have bought into the criticism of Meghan. And we all just loved Harry when he was a bad boy, drinking, stripping in Vegas, etc., but when he grows up and respects his wife, he's no longer fun. I think their media coverage is a lot like the political climate -- there is so much false information. When I read something or see some message being shared, I either ignore it or look up the source, which usually proves the information to be false.

Honestly I think their instagram posts about these kinds of private visits (or for like today's education day post) seem to do a disservice to the charities and causes they're trying to highlight and promote. Like this one seems more abt showcasing the Sussexes in relation to xyz cause rather than the actual cause/charity itself, bc it's just 2 pictures like this and a blurb that sounds like all their other charity blurbs saying something about being an important cause and of course promoting "togetherness" lol. But what specifically does x charity do to help? What is their goal? How can they be supported in that? Or like...why is a certain cause important? Charlotte has done a wonderful job of telling us all these things every time, but otherwise with most of these Instagram posts-which they intend to replace the media-we'd have to do more work ourselves to actually find out why the cause matters or why the charity does or how to help them or how the Sussexes are even helping. And if that's the case, then the post seems to more help the Sussexes image than the charity/cause. Even when Meghan invited a specific reporter to her private luminary bakery visit-something else they indicated they want to do more in future-even then we got an article that was an opinion piece about Meghan not a news article reporting about the visit and charity. Also honestly after a while just some pictures and an Instagram caption is going to get old. . I bring all this up bc this is early big part of their plan going forward for how we the public will get much of our information about their interactions with charity from now on.

Anon 3:50, you are absolutely right that a few images will not suffice. Her visit to Mayhew was, I HOPE, just a stopgap before she does something to help them like she has done Smart Works and the Hubb women. I read about the incredible progress but wanted to know what was done that was incredible. I think Meghan must have huge flowcharts somewhere detailing everything to do and we will be seeing full efforts later -- lots of PR about charities and more photos.

I see little time that they will be in the UK other than UK-based charities, weddings, and the such. If she should have another child, I'm sure he/she won't be born in the UK. They may have expected to retain Harry's military posts, which would have called for a few more days in the UK.

The media is till crazy -- "Will they be invited to Beatrice's wedding?" Why in the world wouldn't they? Will every guest be a working royal? Will any cousins other than K&W be a working royal?

I donate to Mayhew and receive their emails. They sent one out very recently, but after Meghan's visit,which indicated they will shortly be announcing an important new initiative, so perhaps that was discussed but not yet available for public announcement at the time. Let's wait and see.

That’s pretty much the way the British royals have been doing it. The press rarely do deep dive into the independent charities with these visits. Social Media provides links for readers. That’s pretty much how things are done. This allows the charity to control and write its own narrative and news independently.

This is different from the royals’ foundation where they have their own team running the media site and PR.

At anon 3:50Honestly, what have you done to make this world a better place? How have you helped children whose parents have died? How have you helped wounded veterans? How have you helped women struggling to feed their families after surviving a horrible fire?I have great admiration for Harry and Meghan because they have done all the above. They didn’t have to, but they did. I admire Charlotte because she faithfully tells their story.Having seen how Harry and Meghan have helped others until now, I trust them to continue to find creative and very meaningful ways to be of service to others.Maybe, we, Charlotte’s readers, can also find ways to help improve our world.1 Light

Anon 22:57 I think, but am not sure, that the earlier poster was thinking that part of the appeal and readability is an in-depth story, like Charlotte said, with personal insights. I still reminder that adorable little girl who was biracial and wanted to be an actress, and PH led her to Meghan. That said so much -- Harry tells the world that yes he sees Meghan is biracial and that is part of what he loves. He's letting the world know that it's wonderful for a little girl to be biracial and to want to be an actress. H&M have the power to change one person's life and to change the lives of many.

You make a very interesting point,FM, but I don't think that would matter except perhaps in the UK. If lots of money for Mayhew and other animal charities elsewhere were made in other countries, I don't think Mayhew (or the others) would care.

I so wish that Harry and Meghan will step out this week at a charity event to put the media speculations to rest. There is so much rubbish out there, one claim worse than the other. We need to see them out in force!!

GQ UK has several good articles about racism and one article described how Amna Saleem took on an established white male BBC correspondent, Peter Hunt, over his denial of racist coverage of Meghan. There was a funny twitter from Evening Standard’s Ayesha Hazarika who tweeted with punch, “Shout out to all my sisters of colour who have been summoned on national broadcast to be told there’s no racism and it’s all in our heads and then have to deal with the fallout here.”

I know the Guardian did an analysis that showed Meghan and Harry had far more negative articles. The fact that these royal correspondents and media figure can’t look at their work and listen when readers (or fellow panelists) of color tell them it’s racist said a lot more about journalists like Peter Hunt and academics like Robert Lacey. These white men are deep in their denial. Their expertise on what is racism is ironic at best, and willful ignorance (some may say racist) at worst.

I think it’s fascinating how the monarchy isn’t really dealing with this at all. No amount of photo-ops will change the perception that all is well. What happened to the Windrush generation, the rise of xenophobia and hate crime these past few years tell us all is not well and sweeping things under the rug with stiff upper lip only undercut that pretend image.

While it probably did not help that the Duchess of Sussex is American, (civilly) divorced and a feminist, the real problem is her „exotic DNA” (Daily Mail). There was mean coverage from the start, “Straight Outta Compton” (Daily Mail), “only good enough to be a mistress” (Spectator - praising the Duke of York’s dutiful behaviour in the same article) coming from a journalist who had previously complained about “Somali mothers” in London having too many children (Times). Much as these journalists are trying to rewrite history now, there was extremely negative coverage from the start, letting up briefly around the time of the wedding because you cannot sell a wedding if your readers hate the couple; then regaining steam, and going completely crazy when news of the pregnancy broke. A biracial child would clearly have been unacceptable, so the Sussexes pretty much had to get out if they want to have another and not be afraid all the time. A child is not a chimpanzee, you think people would have learned by this time.

Her Markle family would have been another ongoing problem, not or not only because it is so unlikeable (the Duke of York and Gary Goldsmith come to mind) but because it is so talkative. They must need the money very badly but that is no excuse.

I actually hope that they remain very silent for a couple of monthd for their own sake. Time to recollect their mind, work quietly and.why not get their own.source of income and.move in their new house before we stat hearing from them. And in this particular moment when the RF might be praying for a distraction from andrew not cooperating with the police. It speaks volume to see how the mesia rota seems unable or not willing simply to cover this new development. Should HM resurface now they will give the mewia a new excuse to tir them up. Asnmuch i want them to cpme out for valuable causes I hope they just remain silent for a while.

One of the most striking thing has been the responses by British press to charges of racism (and sexism) with dismissive derision and denials. I had to laugh at the white press attempts to make it about reverse discrimination and that it’s not racism to dislike someone because of their behavior or characteristic while never acknowledging the double standards they applied (segregation and apartheid did the same) and their attempt to judge someone whom they don’t know personally or never had a one to one conversation with.

I wish people watch a documentary “I Am Not Your Negro”. (It’s on Amazon Prime for N. Americans). There’s a point in the video @ 1:11 where James Baldwin appears on the Dick Cavett show and went toe-to-toe with a Yale Professor, Paul Weiss, who asked “why must we always concentrate on color?” Baldwin’s response is so powerful and so clear why that is. And what different worlds we live in -even today, some 50 years later.

For those who can’t see the documentary, here’s a YouTube link to the Cavett show encounter.

https://youtu.be/_fZQQ7o16yQ

For me, there are parallels to be drawn in race relations on both sides of the pond. The British gained its greatest power and wealth today from the servitude, misery and brutal repression of people. The US has done the same with slaves and Indians. Canada with its indigeneous population. People in the Commonwealth know this. It’s why as much as the monarchy would like to revive the Commonwealth as a more benign empire 2.0, it’ll never be that lion again. The whole Commonwealth revival was always mired with residues of empire past, hence overall optic awkwardness. Australia’s and New Zealand’s trade ties are with Asia. Canada will straddle both east and west, but particularly with its closest neighbors in the Americas. Canada is a land of immigrants where the Queen may be on its money, but it’s not a nation clinging to England’s past glory. Beyond the royal myths and magic, there are real reckonings and steep challenges ahead.

James Baldwin stated:“ I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.”

Thank you for continuing with this blog, Charlotte. I really appreciate your fair curation of Sussex news. I was thinking of a comment from Byrony Gordon on her last article relating to Meghan where she said that Meghan lives in the solution. I think that provides remarkable insight into her character. I hope that Meghan will be able to work with the UN again in some capacity. Continental European royals do. I must say that the British monarchy, by failing to embrace and protect the "change" represented by the marriage of Harry and Meghan and opting for "continuity and sameness" seems to be going backwards instead of progressing to greater relevance in a new century. Harry is truly his mother's son. It was after leaving her marriage that she did some of her most lasting charity work. I hope that he and Meghan will rise high from the ashes of what appears to be deplorable family dynamics. I also have to say at this point that seeing our smiling queen with Prince Andrew the day after Meghan and Harry's "exit" left a bad taste in my mouth. It just points out to me her failure to protect what should be part of the future of monarchy. I have always admired the queen and her steadfastness and sacrifice. One should never fault the love of a mother for her child, but I felt really hit in the face with what I see as tone deafness when I saw that picture. And I see some rehabilitation of Andrew already taking place in the press, while it continues to bssh the Sussexes.

Thanks for your excellent work Charlotte! IMO your blog is the best on Meghan, just the right balance documenting her fashion and her life. I agree 100% with Anonymous at 16:26. I agree the British monarchy is going backwards. When I read your comment I remembered Diana's tell all interview when the interviewer asked her if she thought the royal family was jealous of her, she replied: "I think they were afraid of a strong woman".

Anne-Sophie -- I love your thinking! I am so irritated with what we read and hear. There was an interview, for another puepose, recently with Zara's husband and another person who I think had been at Harry's wedding. The interviewer of course asked if he could ask about H&M, and Mike said not to talk about them. Why couldn't he say, "We're very close to them and love them a lot. We hope they find happiness but we can't talk about particulars, of course. All we can say is what we say about any family members." Not act like they had stolen royal jewels and fled to another country.

And people saying that they did that after that expensive wedding! The York sisters have expensive weddings and are allowed to live their lives.

I miss them a lot but have to assume that when they return, they will bring something wonderful. Of course they don't owe anyone that sort of commitment but luckily for us that is where their hearts lie.

Hi Charlotte. I thought I’d send you a link to an article that you may want to read (and maybe share on the comments section if you think appropriate). The intention isn’t to pry on their life’s, obviously, but maybe people who have little awareness of Canadian ways (the famous ‘Only in Canada’ adage is quite appropriate in this case, in my opinion).

Thank you again for keeping this log up. I appreciate your efforts and professionalism.

Thank you for the link Anonymous@23:29. So glad we are so civilized about all this in Canada. We do have a couple of tabloids, but we all know them for what they are and generall put no credence in what they write.

Last November I sent a Thanksgiving card and a letter of support to Meghan. I told her to continue to let her light shine as the words to the song at her wedding says. Yesterday I received a letter from her personal secretary saying that Meghan asked her to thank me for my letter. The letter has Harry and Meghan's monogram at the top. I am thrilled!

I went to Twitter to read a MAM post and made the mistake of reading other posts. What people who are criticising the Sussexes for making money don't realize is that they cannot just buy a house in Virginia for $300,000 and move in and mix with the neighbors! I guess security is the largest expense -- aside from perhaps wanting to look out a window and not have anyone looking back, there are real concerns of kidnapping and worse. No one bats an eye at Harry's cousins for their business ventures and gifts from relatives, but the idea that H&M should make money seems to offend everyone. Yes, they will use their royalty to make money because that is why they need to make money! The York sisters may be lovely people but if they were not part of the RF, they would be living in a cheap apartment based on their jobs. And Beatrice would have a different job.

I hope they are surrounded by good people and can avoid some of the media. They wonder why they can be like Kate and William yet they insult Harry's wife and call his child a monkey. Amazing!! I haven't seen anything so ugly about the other cousins and their children.

As you said Allison this double standard between H&M and the rest of the RF is increadible. Nobody in the RF is chocked and react that Archie could be calles monkey or other ugly names. Months ago it was reported that K&W called a radio presenter who made a joke about george taking dance classes. It was seen as very positive that they step up. Harry does the same for his family who endure much more and on daily basis he is called a weak man under the influence of his wife. Have poers morgan to push for trump to make a comment on H&M decision to step down was another very low moment. As long as attacks and insults are directes at Megha it seems everyone is fine. It si very sad for everyone. O just hope that like a phoeniw they will raise from their ashes and be stronger than ever.Christelle1

A lot of opinions are expressed on items that "are reported" with no verification of what is true or not on either side. When opinion replaces fact then it is no longer journalism. The truth is that we do not yet still know the whole story and probably never will, not everything is for us to analyze.

I read that Harry and Meghan went to speak about mental health in Miami. No pictures. Any truth to that? I wonder if they have to regroup now that their royal roles are kind of out of the picture. It seems they had hoped to continue doing royal work alongside their new lives, which is now not possible. It really changes everything. Sorry if I’m slow on the uptake, I really had to think this through in terms of how it would affect their plans, which I feel had been planned for a while. Thoughts?

The speech in Miami has been confirmed by Buckingham Palace according to regular (non-tabloid) press. The Sussexes might be regrouping with respect to some things like the name and logo of their foundation, where they might or might not still be able to use “royal” but may not want to do so in order not to be too dependent on the Palace in the distant future. However, speaking/acting/presenting must always have been the plan so that should not be regrouping. They can never have intended to sell pyjamas as the tabloids said, they do not have to worry about dignity so much while the Prince of Wales is selling cookies and the Queen is selling faux jewellery (some of it very pretty, but the way, and not at all undignified) but about the margin of profitability which is not very high in the clothing business.

The Palace needs them to continue work on the charities they support, be that work called royal or not, because if they do not someone of their caliber would have to step in, ie the Cambridges. While the Sussexes do that work, they should be financially supported by the Prince of Wales in return if they want. If they are successful which I think they will be, they can continue their charity work in their own name and cut financial ties with the Palace, but they should not be forced to do so unless the Cambridges are suddenly willing and able to do the work of four people.

The best part in all of this is the couple's relationship seems strong, and there is this image of a good and well working team about them. As the days go by, I am finding them more and more interesting even in the absence of news about them. Those who help others need to start from helping themselves first. That is what they seem to have done. The break they are taking during transition is practical. It also makes good family bonding time with their young son. I look forward to see them on March 8, Commonwealth Day in London. There may come more announcements as the Spring timeline for their transition will come to an end. My guess is the family of three, or at least Harry will be in UK through the end of June.The JP Morgan Miami conference is claimed to have been attended by them as well as former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. If indeed they attended, the couple attended as part of their new “independent” life. Ultimately, it seems with this couple, it may come down to be, the end justifies the means. May be in increments of five years, can they be judged for their trial, error, failure and achievements. Some point out the reputation of JP Morgan in the global financial world and blame them for such association.If they had a sendoff with The Queen’s understanding that they were scrutinized, the media continues to do just that. They travel by air, they are called hypocrites (last summer might have been in excess, but in retrospect may be for a rushed purpose). They are not necessarily hard die activists like Greta who had to take a ship from Sweden to New York. The couple may believe in climate change effects and bring it to the forefront, but not easy for any one in their busy status to avoid flying by plane. May be they should join research company towards less carbon flights. I am getting to like them more and more as a couple. Yes “Set the world on fire”. Good Luck!

There hasn't been any official word, but the moment it's confirmed I'll have a post on it. It does sound very likely Harry, Meghan and Archie will return to the UK in early March for several engagements including the Commonwealth Day service. I think we may also see the Endeavour Fund awards and patronage events.

The story you mention has not been generally picked up on, not much detail is known so that might be why many, including myself, are reluctant to comment on it just yet. Quite generally though, the Prince of Wales was only chosen as future Head of the Commonwealth by the skin of his teeth. It seems reasonable to suppose that making Prince Harry, supported by his fiancée of part African descent, a Youth Ambassador would have been helpful in achieving that. If senior members of the Royal Family are perceived to be unsupportive, it will all come back to bite them.

Welcome to Mad About Meghan! We do so look forward to reading your thoughts. Constructive, fair debate is always encouraged. Hateful, derogatory terms and insults are not welcome here. This space focuses on Harry and Meghan, not any other member of the Royal family. It's not the place to discuss politics either. Thank you for reading, we look forward to your comments :)